The Only People Who Bothered
by sakura-blossoms-26
Summary: Jackson was a normal kid, he played in the marching band and was a football player. What happens when he needs friends when he's diagnosed with a potentially fatal defect? Rated T for Cursing. JackRabbit. CH 7 UPDATE. DONT SKIP
1. The Night Things Changed

**SB-26: Heya everybody, I'm finally returning after my couple year long break. Unfortunately for you all, my health and school takes first in the whole list of things I do so I may not update often. Enjoy though!**

I do not own ROTG. I wish I did.

Summary: Jackson Frost was a normal high school boy, he played football, marched in the marching band on the snare (First chair mind you!) but the one thing he needed he didn't have. He didn't have any friends. What happens when he's diagnosed with something that he needs that support? ((IT'S NOT CANCER FOR THOSE WHO THINK IT IS))

Jack marched along with the music while keeping the tempo on his snare drum. Sweat poured from his forehead and back, soaking his clothes. Yes, marching band was hell sometimes but it was what kept him sane. Finally they came to the end, stopping in the attention position. His back ached and burned from the strain of holding the snare up and standing on his feet for upwards of five hours. Yep, marching band could really suck. "At ease!" One drum major called, eliciting a sigh of relief and happiness from everyone.  
Jack took off the snare and flopped onto the ground with a sigh of relief and a groan of pain. Should he have gone to get his back looked at before the season started? Probably but he might've been out the whole season and he couldn't take that risk, not with him having just made first snare. Stuck in his thoughts he didn't see the shadow coming across his body from Aster Spring, the pit section leader and his almost enemy.

At six foot even he towered over Jack with no troubles, easily giving him a slap over the head when he thought Jack needed it. Asters' eyes were a pale green compared to Jacks' deep, icy blue eyes. He was from Australia which earned him the name kangaroo from Jack and the other kids but Jack was the one who started it all. This nickname led to Aster hating Jack fully, only talking to him when he needed something or had to by orders of the teacher or principal. "Yo, frostbite, get up. Mr. Moon says that he wants to see you and the other section leaders," Aster said gruffly, prodding Jacks' side with his huge grungy feet.

"Tell him I need a moment, I'll be right there," Jack grunted out, trying to build up the courage to actually move his beaten and battered body. "Oh don't give me that look kangaroo, I'm not gonna run." This set Aster off, screaming and yelling at the Sophomore. "Call me that name one more time and I'm going to beat the ever living crap out of you, you understand?" The older boy screamed out after giving Jack a swift kick in his already sore back. When no answer came Aster kicked once more, then another, and another until he threw a single punch to Jacks' cheek.

All Jack could do was take the hits and not return them, laying with his body curled into himself. Suddenly the burning hits and yelling stopped, someone kneeling next to Jack.  
~P.O.V Change, Jack~

I felt the sting of each punch and kick suddenly lift and sat up, my eyes cast away Aster. Why was it always me? Why was I the one that always got hit on when the other kids say 'kangaroo' too? It wasn't fair.

"Are you alright Jack? Anything broken?" Mr. Moon asked while forcing my head up to look into his eyes. Mr. Moon was a portly man who was always there for you, even if you did something wrong. "I'm fine Mr. Moon. I'm just going to go home," I muttered, standing and grabbing my things before beginning to walk away. This wasn't uncommon with how the dynamics in our band was. The popular kids ended up beating up the outcasts when they went too far, it wasn't any different than what the school acted like.

After packing up my things in the band room I grabbed my practice pad and sticks and began walking, my bleach white hair shining the last rays of light back to the sun. No matter how much time I spent in the sun or tanning my pale skin never changed but I suppose that's for the best, my natural white-gray hair wouldn't look great with tanned skin anyway.

I lived pretty close to the school and walked to and from every day. It wasn't like I could have anyone drive me anyway, Mom died when I was three and Dad ended up dieing when I was seven from a complication from surgery. I worked at Wal-Mart for minimum wage and got a pension from the government to keep myself afloat. I didn't need the job but hey, the extra money helps. I lived in a pretty crappy apartment in an alright area, there weren't any murders often but there were thefts that left people baffled. It didn't matter to me though, I only had a few years left here anyway and then I'd be off to college.

When I got in I placed my bag down, yelping out in pain when I used my back too much. It had to be only a pulled muscle, right? It's not like I wasn't healthy, in fact it was weird how healthy I was. Being a vegetarian helped, meat was fatty and filled with unsightly hormones to make the meat taste better. I liked tofu and salad much more than unhealthy meats.

"I'm home," I sighed out uselessly into the empty house. I have no idea why I say that every time but it helped with the loneliness I think. I quickly took a shower, looking at the swollen looking patches on my back. They were raised horribly and painful to the touch. I'd have to ice when I got out of the shower again. At least, that was the plan. I didn't count on the doorbell ringing just as I was getting out.  
Sighing loudly I dried off and wrapped a towel around myself before heading out to get the package that had most likely been delivered. My bare feet slapped noisily on the hardwood floor as I rushed out there, my hair sopping wet and clinging to my forehead. "I thought you guys only delivered-" I started, rooting around for a few ones to pay the guy. Looking up I stopped dead, staring up at the eyes of my enemy, Aster Spring, and his partners in crime, Tooth, Nickolas and Sanderson (We all call him Sandman though, He's the only real nice one in the group).

I looked down at my less then decent self and slammed the door, blushing deeply. After a moment I opened it again. "How the hell did you guys find me?" I asked in a low voice, tightening my grip on the towel. "You know what? Just get in here, you're all letting the hot air in." I moved out of the way and let them in with a loud sigh. They all shuffled inside and I moved to take the items off the couch. "Take a seat and let me change and you can explain why you're here,"

I rushed off to change, my bare back and shoulders showing to the group everyone called 'The Tryhards,' or 'The Guardians.' It depended on who you asked but I called them the Guardians, it seemed much nicer than the tryhards. In any case, they'd just seen me in nothing but a towel so I had better be nice to them. Shutting the bathroom door I began changing shakily, afraid that Aster would begin to get angry again.  
`P.O.V Change, Aster~  
Alright, that idiot coming out in a towel was not expected in the least, not at all. We did come right after practice though so I couldn't blame him. When Mr. Moon said for me to apologize it took me by surprise. Apologize, me? No way, not to the little cretin. Finally after the others had come to talk me into it Mr. Moon gave us the address and sent us on our way. It surprised me where he lived though, the bad part of town in an apartment? Wow, the kid must've been from a rough home at least. Then he opened the door in nothing but a towel with his air conditioner blasting cold air on high. Did the frostbite have trouble with heat or just tried to annoy everyone that came in to his house.

I have to admit that Jack looked kind of cute just standing there with his white hair plastered to his face and some of the water from the shower or bath he'd just taken still sitting there on his chest and shoulders. He had the percussionist build and slight tan, his chest and shoulders lightly toned as he worked to hold up the drum. Jack had a very very very light tan on his chest and shoulders from the harness resting there for hours on end almost every day of the week. It was no surprise that he was the Drumline section leader, he'd obviously been playing for years.  
Then he'd slammed the door. Okay, I get that we'd scared him but really? Slamming the door was not the right response. "I'm going to kill him," I said, reaching up to open the door before it opened again, Jack still in his towel and water dripping off of him as he stood there. When we were led in he sat us on the couch before turning away, letting us see the ugly mass of swelling and bruising riddling his back. Just what in the world had beaten this kid up?

"Bunny, do you see what you did?" Nick whispered angrily at me, slapping the back of my head as he did. "Nick! It's too early for him to bruise like that from Aster, It's from something else!" That was Tooth, the voice of all reasoning in the world. "So, What, is it just from anything under the sun?"

"Pulled muscles. They're hell," A voice sounded from the entry way. Jack. "I pulled them carrying around the snare." Jack sat down, wearing a pair of only pajama pants and a sweatshirt. He looked pale and exhausted, eyes weary and weighed down by internal struggles.  
"I came to say I'm sorry. About everything," I grit out, Nick elbowing me in the side. Jack pulled up the hood and rested his chin on the tops of his knees. "It's fine. Look, I have homework. Can you guys.. I don't know, scram I guess?" He asked, getting up with a large wince and slight moan of pain. Tooth flit over, putting her hand over his back and feeling the lumps. "What the- Hey, get off!" He cried, trying to shrug her off.  
~P.O.V. Change, Jack~  
Tooth's hands flit quickly over my back, pressing onto sore and tender areas ."Ow! Ow! Hey, don't touch them!" I almost yelped when she had me bend over at the hips. I was bent over much like they would do in wellness checks from the school nurse, head down and back curved lightly. "I'm a Sports Medicine student, just humor me alright?" She said as she gently ran a finger over my spine.

Something was off, definitely wrong, I thought as she did it again and again. "Jack, you need to see your doctor, you need to get this checked out. These aren't pulled muscles." I froze at that. "It's the muscles, I don't have a doctor and don't need one," I said gravely when she let me back up. "Humor me and go to the Emergency room then. Jack, you have a defect called Scoliosis. Instead of your spine being strait it's curved which causes the pain. I will knock you out and make you come with us if you don't come willingly."

Woah, when had she said we were going tonight? "I don't want to go," I said softly, looking away from the rest of them. "If I get diagnosed with something I'll have to drop football and marching band. It's not happening." I backed up against the couch and sat down childishly. I noticed tooth nod to someone on the side and in seconds there was a sudden painful burst on the back of my head and darkness met me halfway to the ground.

**So, um, yeah. Review I guess? I know it's a bit short but It's what I could do in short notice and I couldn't think of where to end it.**


	2. After the Hospital- What was going on?

**Do not own. **

**Please, should I keep this as JackRabbit?**

**Review Replies:**

Shuern94ann: Thank you so much for Reviewing! And yes, they will grow fond of Jack at some point. Right now they think he's just an annoying punk and Aster hates him!

~Jack P.O.V.~

The day after my surprise ER trip I was sitting outside the band room tossing a ball up and down as I waited on the lunch period end. I had a nice thick row of stitches on the back of my head from whatever the hell they hit me with- a crowbar I think?- and it throbbed horribly. Could them hitting me over the head be assault with a deadly weapon? Maybe but I didn't have the time to ponder that.

I really had Scoliosis. A birth defect. A birth defect that was slowly killing me and making it almost impossible for me to breathe. Great, this is just great! After I'd finally gotten settled at my job and school had evened out I get diagnosed with this? Ha, great, this was perfect. I couldn't help but think about the night I'd had last night at the ER getting all this different information on my scoliosis and my curve and the treatment options I could go with. So far I had two ways to treat this- Bracing and Physical Therapy and surgery.

~Night Before~

_I was laying in the bed they'd given me after stitching up the back of my head and getting X-rays for my back. Of course, as soon as I'd been taken back the Try-Hards were gone, just disappeared on me. It figures I'd have to do this alone too and then catch a cab back or walk. _

_It didn't take long for the doctor to come back with the X-ray films in hand and another doctor, this one a lot older, tagging behind him. Oh crap, they must have found something then. "Hi Jack, we just want to take a look at you then talk about your X-rays if you don't mind," Dr. Nate said, placing the films on the light board and flipping them off before I could see. "It's not like I have much of a choice doc," I said, sitting up so that I was as strait as I could, which really isn't that strait. One of my shoulders drooped lower than the other and I had that swelling area on my back so I couldn't get _That_ strait. _

_ "Very true there Jack, very true. I need you to lay on your stomach so we can take a look at your back," I was immediately on my stomach for the doctor so we could get this completely done and over with so I could go finish my math homework. "So, what is it? Everyone seems to be tiptoeing around me at the moment and I really don't appreciate it," I said with a soft gasp as he touched one of the lumps. _

_ "Well Jack, it seems that you have a birth defect called Scoliosis. It's a defect that lies dormant in your body and sometimes doesn't even show up. When introduced to certain hormones and in a certain quantity it causes your spine to change shape so that it's curved into one, two or sometimes even three curves. In your case it's two curves that are very great," Dr. Nate said before stepping back to allow the older doctor in. _

_ "What, is it going to kill me?" I asked with a small tremor in my voice. I was only 15, it couldn't be my time yet, right? _

_ "We're going to do all we can to keep that from happening. It's extremely rare Jack, don't worry about it. For now though you're going to be placed in a TLSO scoliosis brace that will hopefully prevent it from getting larger. Then, in about a month you'll come and see me here in the hospital to go over the rest of the options," The man said, sitting me up. "Has there been scoliosis in your family before? Mother, Father, Brother, Sister?" _

_ "My parents died when I was little but I can dig out their medical records," I choked out, feeling faint. "What is there other than bracing?" _

_ "There's a surgery but we try not to perform it until it's a last resort because it can be taxing on the body. So, we're going to go with bracing and some sports limitations at the moment to try and keep the curves from getting any larger than what they are right now." At that I let out a shaky sigh and placed my head in my hands before lifting them for a trembling nod. "Alright, let's do this then," I said and scratched at my eyes. _

_ "We're going to take you for brace fitting and tonight you'll take it home. You're going to wear it under your clothes and it's going to be painful, Tylenol and Motrin will be your best friends," The older doctor said and let me stand before we started walking to the bracing area. I shivered at the mention of pain but continued walking. "How often am I going to need to wear it? I'm in the marching band so I need to know if I'd need to take it off," _

_ "Well, for contact sports you're going to need to take it off but you really should wear it for marching band to keep your back from being injured," The old man said and as soon as we'd gotten to the room I'd been fitted and five hours later I was going home with a back brace on and my note for school and sports. I'd wear the brace for 23 hours a day. I would manage about 3 hours of sleep if I rushed home, two if I didn't do my homework. I ended up not getting any sleep. _

_ ~End of Flashback~_

To tell the truth I was scared out of my mind and I hurt from even the few hours in the brace. 23 hours of this is way too long for this and it hurt like hell. There were padding added onto the brace to try and correct the curves but from what I'd read with a curve like mine I'd be needing surgery. It was no wonder I couldn't breathe either, the curves were compressing my lungs. Again, I went into the hospital in two weeks for a breathing test and a barrage of X-rays to try and observe the curve. I was not ready for this at all.

With a loud groan and sigh I laid down awkwardly, the brace cutting into my thighs and hips when I moved. This thing was pure and utter hell and I had no way of getting out of it. At least I didn't have to change the way I dressed, I only wore hoodies and looser jeans on any normal day.

Knowing no one was around I moved to shuffle my hoodie off so I could get cooler, this brace was as hot as an inferno. So, I laid there in my wife beater tank top and the icy blue brace I'd been given. Said brace was as stated, an icy blue that covered the entire thing. It went from my pits to the top of my hip where it then went along to the back where it went even further down ((A/N: **Look up Boston Scoliosis TLSO brace.)) **Honestly I hated it, it hurt horribly, made me hot and sweaty and until I got home for a shower I couldn't take it off. It felt as if I were suffocating outside of water.

"You know, it usually isn't wore outright, you know that don't you?" An almost sickly sweet voice said from behind me and I struggled to sit up and tug my hoodie back on. Damn it! Why did I even take it off? "Woah, it's just me, Tooth. It's okay," Tooth said. Knowing who it was I let myself sag onto the ground with a loud sigh. I hated this damn thing!

"You know, I can't breathe in this thing," I said a bit gruffly as I continued to toss the ball up and down. "I hear they could be like that. What...What's it like?"

"It's suffocating and overly hot. Being that I'm the only one in the school that has it, it really sucks because now all my teachers know. The Hospital sent a note to the school and they took me off the football team. Band's all I got now," I said. She was silent for a little while before she placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Your parents? What do they say about this?" I froze stiff and closed my eyes, envisioning I was the ice cold chill of winter so I could answer the question with almost no emotions getting in the way.

"My mom died before I was a day over three and my dad was a drunk. Said it was me that killed her. Started drinking and everything went downhill. Died from complications from a liver surgery when I was seven. If the surgery hadn't killed him then the cancer they found would've," I said before catching the ball in my hands and just tossing it between them aimlessly. "I live alone with the governments' help. Other then that I don't have anyone."

There was a loud moment of pure silence between us and she scooted a little closer. "I-I'm so sorry Jack. I didn't know... I didn't think-" I cut her off before she went any further. "It's fine, I make the best of it." It was a bit curt but hey, she'd asked me what my parents thought. I looked back to her, my head hitting the ground with a soft thump, giving her a bright smile.

"By the way, what'd you guys hit me with? I needed twelve stitches," I said, giving her a raised eyebrow look. Why did they hit me anyway? "Well, it was a -" The bell cut her off again and I groaned before sliding my sweater back on and slowly getting up. Marching band would be hell again but I knew somehow I'd get through it. I slowly walked into the hell that was Marching Band.

**So, again, didn't know how to leave it off but I will have another chapter up soon hopefully. You'll get to see the Guardians' reactions to Jack and his story. Read and Review!**


	3. AN do not skip

Okay, I got a pretty rude guest review calling me an idiot. I ended up having scoliosis and having a 7 hr 48 minute surgery with 28 screws and 4 rods in my back. DO NOT CALL ME AN IDIOT. People do die on operating tables and end up getting paralyzed. I know what the hell I'm talking about so back off, will you?! If you have a bad enough curve, your lungs will be crushed to the point you cannot breathe and sometimes you cannot be revived on the table, it's a possiblity in every surgery. It is also a bad myth that scoliosisis is caused by bad posture, it is the hormones causing an imbalance in your bones. I had a doctor explain this to me at Radys childrens hospital in Sandiego by the best ortho guy there. Do better research before calling me out please

. Rant over. Next chapter will be up soon as I'm dealing with nerve Damage and other medical issues.


	4. Bonding time!

**So, I'm really sorry about going off but it makes me horribly mad when people try and contradict me. I figured I should tell you guys about what I went through.**

**In my 7th grade year I was 12 and just started 7th grade. I had began karate and was actually kicking butt but lately I'd been hurting my back a lot. We believed it was nothing so life went on. Everything went normally until I was caught fighting two guys in karate and took both a blow to the back and then was slammed to the ground. We thought that my back was injured because I had this huge lump. After going to the doctor and being X-rayed, I was diagnosed with a DISORDER (I repeat DISORDER/BIRTH DEFECT) called Scoliosis. I went to several Ortho doctors and ended up being placed in a back brace before having surgery on December 13th , 2010. I have 28 screws and 4 rods placed. **

**I also added a little thing that some of you may pick up on if you know the signs. First person to get it will get mentioned in the next chapter.**

**I'm also really sorry this was a bit late, I had to start up my garden, did a couple track meets and then had to deal with some crap from an ex friend. All and all a lot of crap has began flying. **

**I do not own**

Jack had gotten through his class and then went to advanced Physics for seniors even though he was Sophomore. He was smart, smarter than what people thought he was. He held the highest grades in all classes, his brain constantly working to solve things that he came up with and with what he was given. He could solve Calculus homework in minutes and work out science projects in matters of hours when it took others days. Jack was constantly bored and messed around. He threw a ball up and down and into the other hand constantly when he wasn't working and then sometimes worked on his own college work.

The teachers didn't mind as long as he did his work and got the information enough to pass. At the moment his Physics class was working on the transfer of energy and temperature , most importantly, the transfer of heat to one object from another. "Jackson, tell me the relationship between wavelengths and color please," The teacher said, picking on Jack as he colored in the margins of his notepaper. He looked up with a bored look and sighed. "Color we see is the wavelengths that have been bounced off the object and the color shows what the object absorbs. Black, it absorbs every color, white absorbs none," He said just loud enough to be heard but it wasn't like anyone was really listening. (( **We're studying this now, had to write it in!))**

His back ached and stung as he shifted in his seat, the brace cutting into his sweat drenched thighs. Everything had been soaked at band after he'd began sweating and felt as if he were going to melt! It was hot today and people didn't have the right clothing besides their usual school uniform, including Jack. He'd made sure he didn't change though, he didn't want people to see his new attire. It embarrassed him greatly that he'd need such a thing. He'd almost never been sick before and didn't want it to change.

"Good Jack. I do believe we have a physics major in out midst!" The teacher boasted, looking around at the class. Jack blushed and looked down before going back to his doodles in his notebook. He didn't like being fussed at, it made him slightly confused at why they even wanted to.

All of a sudden the quake he'd had since he was a baby happened in his legs. They moved and shook and as soon as it had passed it left his legs limp and tired. This had been happening for a long time, longer than the time his back had been hurting. People he knew, like the nurse, wanted him to get it checked out but it was just anxiety, it was always just anxiety. It couldn't be anything else, right? Even if it was, even if he wasn't right, he had to keep going. He just couldn't keep going to the doctor like he did yesterday.

When class got out Jack made way for the exit to the school only to be assaulted by the Tryhards again. Trying to squirm his way through in between Aster and Nick as he spoke softly, he glared heavily. He didn't like people and didn't understand them, was this too much to ask to be left alone?

~Jack P.O.V.~

Apparently to these jokers it was because Nick held me back. It was too much touching, feeling the rough palms and horrible feeling from them touching my own skin. With a growl I wrenched my arms away and kicked out in anger.

"Jack! Calm down comrade!" Nick roared out. I was thankful that there was no one around anymore, they'd all cleared out almost as soon as the bell rang and the buses cleared out. "Please let me go. I don't like being touched! Let me go!" I yelped out and struggled my way out of his arms. Finally standing I began shaking out my limbs, trying to get rid of the horrible feeling of touch that had overcome my senses. I didn't like being touched or talking a lot, I just didn't.

"What do you want?" I asked with a soft quake in my voice, getting right to the point. I was never really talkative plus I needed to get home and practice, do my homework then chores. Then practice again. It was my normal routine that made me feel safe. These fools weren't in my routine and were taking time away. "Woah, sorry Jack. We wanted to know if you wanted to catch dinner or something," Tooth said and looked at me a bit curiously.

"I'm busy, I have things to do," I said and began walking, looking at the watch placed carefully on my left arm just a few centimeters from the beginning of my wrist. "C'mon Frostbite, have dinner with us, it won't kill you!" Aster finally called when I was just a few feet away. With a grit of my teeth I sighed and looked back, still walking. I had to get home on time, I had to. "Be at my place at five thirty sharp. If you're late you won't get food," With that I left them alone at the school.

_~~~Just a line break passing through~~~_

I remember when my father died when I was still pretty young, of how he was always angry. He was angry of my routines and how I planned everything out to the last second. He was 30 and I was 7 but it wasn't hard for me to have my dad die. At least after he was gone I could make my routine clearer.

I didn't expect the stuck up tryhards to actually make it on time. Sandy was first, his sandy ( Oh, The irony) blonde shock of hair bringing a large contrast to my otherwise dark home. I didn't like so much brightness in this place, it hurt my eyes. I nodded my hello and allowed him to come in before returning to dinner. It was beef stir-fry night, my favorite night of the week. I always had it on Fridays to celebrate the coming of the weekend.  
I prepared the peppers first, then the strips of meat and then the rest of the vegetables as I always did. Routines soothed me. Then another set of thumping knocks began to sound on the door and he went to it, opening the door.  
"Jack! Comrade, good to see you!" I ducked beneath Nick's arms and allowed the rest of them in, even Aster the ass. Heh, that kind of rhymed! With a low chuckle to myself I went back into the kitchen to finish dinner.

~Just a P.O.V change to Tooth, Don't mind me~

I watched Jack duck from Nick's arms and something tickled at the back of my mind. What was it though? I knew I couldn't do much to change the fact I couldn't remember so I sat at the couch and spoke with everyone, laughing and joking. Whatever it was, it could wait. Well, I hope.

~Back to Jack~

I had the meal done soon and placed everything on the table, plates clean and set out at every place mat and the food steaming in the Wok which was placed in the middle of the table on the pot holder. They could dish their own food up.  
I knocked on the door frame and looked at them. They were sitting on the couches in an almost circle and almost didn't hear me. "Hey, Jacko, Dinner ready?" Aster asked, looking up at me with great green eyes filled with hope. He must really have been hungry. "Yeah. It's on the table. Stir-fry night," I said quite confidently. Well, as confident as I could be. I was never really talkative and didn't interact with people.

All four of them jumped up with great enthusiasm and started for the kitchen, following the smell of stir fry.  
None of the four prayed though, it was like they had no understanding of what life was like or who God was. It didn't matter to me though, they had their own ways.  
"So, Jack, you're a Sophomore right?" Tooth said and waved her fork at me a bit. "I've seen you in the junior and senior classes before." "I am a Sophomore but I take Junior and Senior classes along with a few College ones. It's too boring at this school for me," I said, looking up at them for the first real time tonight. We spent a long time talking, a long time getting to know each other. They really weren't that bad when I got to know them.  
Nick- I'd call him that even though he said to call him North- was originally from Russia. His family had come here when he was seven, that's why he still had a bit of the accent. Aster was from Australia -Go figure- and was here for a few summers before his parents moved here as well, not liking the fact that you were never five feet away from death in Australia. Apparently he missed the waves but the cool air made up for that. Sandy had been here his whole life and so had Tooth. Everyone called her Tooth because she wanted to be a dentist like her parents, the name had just stuck when she was a kid. Then it came to me to share and I picked at my food for a moment.  
"My mother died not long after I turned three. Heart attack everyone said. I don't know who or what I believe though. My dad turned to Alcohol and died when I was seven. I was born in Alaska but moved here when I was two. Born Albino," I said in an oddly calm voice. It was weird how I could do that.  
Everything stopped for a moment, breathing, eating, talking, laughter, everything. They looked up at me for a moment before Nick spoke up. "I'm so sorry Jack. Your father, was he nice?" It was obvious he was just trying to make conversation and I shrugged, lying lightly. "He was okay when he wasn't drunk. He was an annoying guy when he was," I said softly and dished up a little bit more. After talking about family we changed topics to band, talking about how Mr. Moon had picked the best show this year, it even had a movie to it.  
"Have you seen it Jack?" Sandy signed to me and I shook my head. "I don't have a TV, they're really expensive so I go without," I said, biting off a bit of broccoli from the chunk. "That is it. Movie night tomorrow night at my home. Mother will put meat on your bones and we can watch a movie," Nick said, putting his fork down. "I know the gist if the movie. Kid's an outcast, finds a way to fit in with the dragon and looses his leg after showing everyone that dragons are okay. Jamie told me about it one day at lunch," I said, eyes downcast. They were acting like I was some sort of charity case but I wasn't. "Besides, I don't like TV, it rots the brain."

The next week I was at school, eating a turkey sandwich when they came up at sat with me. The Guardians I mean. I couldn't bring myself to call them the tryhards anymore, it just seemed wrong. "Hey Jack!" They all said/signed to me and I waved. This is how my days went for months, growing closer to the group, making friends and hoping to hell that my back didn't get any worse. The only signs that it was had been the fact I was having a much harder time breathing and that's what lead me back to the ER one fateful day after our final band competition.

**I'm just going to leave it off right there, It's already pretty long by my standards and it's 2 A.M. Here. I have school in four hours so I should probably get some sleep so I don't pass out at track practice. Should have the rest up soon. Please Review!**


	5. Rough Competition?

**So, we had one person manage to get what Jack has. Jack has what is called Autism Spectrum Disease (ASD) but it is more specifically known as Aspergers Syndrome. The symptoms of ASD are very close to regular Autism but toned down very much so. **

**Symptoms:  
1) Very little social skills**

**2)Unable to connect/lives in own little world  
3) Can have a very high IQ or it can sometimes have a slightly lower IQ  
4) Certain food allergies that make their social problems worse because it puts them in a bad mood**

**There are more but I'm lazy and sick, cut me a break. His diagnosis will come out soon but I figured you shouldn't be thinking he was insane.**

Also, if you don't know what a band uniform top and bottom looks like I would suggest you look them up because you will look like an idiot if I get a question about it and I explain it to you in jock/non-band member terms. I'm serious. 

**I hope you like this chapter but as I said, I'm sick with several colds- stomach and chest cold (yay -.-) and I'm also dealing with being diagnosed with Autoimmune disorders that are killing my hands and legs which makes it very hard to write and type. **

**I also need to mention one author, the only one who got it!**

**Shuern94ann! Thank you for reviewing and reading!**

I do not own. 

~Jack P.O.V~ 

For the last few months I'd been working hard to march with the brace but it was hard, I couldn't twist my body correctly because of the stupid brace and how it cut into my hips and thighs. It was weird. The only thing that was weirder was that it felt like I could never get enough air. It was like an elephant was sitting on my chest all the time! I didn't think much on it though, I had a festival to go to with the band to finish out our superior rank year. We'd achieved three separate superior rankings, more than any of the other years have. It made all of us happy but some still felt there was a little something missing. That's when they realized that we didn't have a crown king and queen for the band.

Crown king and queen is just something that the seniors started oh so many years ago. Each year the people who had overcome the most, worked the hardest and helped out the most were crowned the king and queen. Most of the time it's just Juniors and Seniors that are crowned but other times I'd heard stories that Freshman and Sophomores got crowned. I didn't get it, what was there to getting crowned, it's just an inanimate object that meant little to nothing.

Anyway, we were at our final festival- also know as our competition- and gearing up for our performance. It wasn't hard to warm up, we did our usual stretching, every muscle we would use was to be stretched greatly so we wouldn't pull anything and then we were to do three laps around the room that would substitute the whole length of the football field we usually ran. It didn't matter much to me, running was a part of something we did daily. The run is when I started getting out of breath, I started to feel like I couldn't breathe but I kept running, playing and then we took the field.

Everything seemed to get worse when we started marching. It didn't make sense to me, I never got this winded when I was playing in the snow or with the other kids on the block. That part was weird, he'd never had that problem before, even with the brace. I had to keep going. As the Seniors said often, 'The show must go on.' They said that whenever we had tripped over an instrument and broke a rib or sprained an ankle or something, right after they asked if the instrument was alright. I didn't really get what they meant by that but oh well, I don't think I really needed to.

We came to the end of the first song and I stood there trying to catch any amount of air I could but it was hard. The brace was immovable and I was stuck like a rat in a trap. If it were any other time I might not have even marched but I was needed and I couldn't let anyone else down, I just couldn't.

If marching to the first song and playing was hard, the second song was hell on my body. It felt like someone was squeezing every inch of air out of my lungs but I carried on to the third and final song. I thankfully had a solo so I didn't have to march, I could focus on my playing. When my solo finished so did my energy. I don't remember how I managed to finish the song or how I got off the field but I did it by myself, collapsing onto the pavement when I was done.

Aster and the others crowded around me, Aster lifting me up and hefting an arm over his shoulder. I tuned out all talking and worked on concentrating on my breathing while they walked me and the others over to the band bus. "It's alright mate, we'll have you over somewhere to sit in a jiff, just hold onto your dacks on," That was obviously Aster, the big kangaroo. I didn't understand why he had to use those Australian words all the time, he knew I didn't understand them. "What.. the hell.. are dacks you dufus?" I asked, struggling for my next breath. "Pants you dag," He said in reply, confusing me even more. Dag? He'd never used that one before.

As we walked I couldn't help but make a joke. "Hey, what... Whad'ya call a kangaroo that comes to America?" I asked, gasping for breath halfway through. I don't think they'll get this one, it's new. "What?" Tooth asked, completely curious. "Aster," I said, giving a few breathless laughs. I didn't notice the black curling around my vision, alerting me that I was going to pass out. I didn't notice myself slipping out of Asters hold as I passed out either, my head hitting the ground in a sickly manner, a thump resounding.

~Aster P.O.V~

"Aster," The kid said cheekily and gave a few laughs. Any worry I had seemed to disappear but something was nagging me. He was actually allowing me to touch him, that was pretty weird even though all of us had grown closer to him. He seemed like the normal kid that watched Codename: Kids Next Door. Okay, so that's not exactly normal but it still seemed like he was pretty normal to us at least. After we'd introduced him to TV he'd fallen in love with cartoons and came over sometimes to watch it when his TV was down.

I wasn't expecting him to start sagging in my arms. "Oi, you dill, help me out here," I said and tried to hike him higher on my shoulder. He may not have looked heavy but it was like he was a bottomless pit, always eating and never gaining weight. Weird but true. When he started to sag even more I ended up loosing my grip on him and he fell onto the pavement.

His head cracked onto the ground with a loud slam and I immediately moved to turn him over. The rest of the group were right next to me. "Oi! Frostbite, you ankle-biter, wake up!" I slapped his face a little bit until Nick pulled me away slightly. "Comrade, he might be overheated. Leave him be and get Mr. Moon," Nick said, making me notice the flushed appearance to Jack's face.

I nodded and ran to go get Mr. Moon. He'd know what to do, he always knew what to do these days, especially when Jack had managed to overheat in his band uniform one game and had to be taken out of it. Everyone saw his brace, the light blue brace that he absolutely detested. Soon there was a rumor running about about how he had some sort of disease that made everyone but us stay away from him. He closed himself off for a while so that we weren't messed with like he was. It was rough on all of us, we had just made friends with Jack and then all this crap had began? It was wrong that this had happened and we ended up going to the principal, we already knew who had started the Rumors, Pitch Black. He got suspended for a month and then came back a week ago but the damage was done. The people who talked to Jack didn't talk to him anymore. It took forever to get him to start talking to us.

"Mr. Moon! Something's wrong!" I said, pulling him towards where Jack lay. As soon as Mr. Moon saw Jack he took off running as fast as he could towards where the teen lay.

"Jack? Jackson, I need you to wake up. You're having a heat stroke again," He seemed uneasy and struggled to get Jack awake. "As soon as you can I need you to get him out of his uniform and try and get him awake. Pour some cool water onto a cloth or something but not directly on his skin! Nick, go get the water and cloth. If he starts to have a seizure for whatever reason get him into the rescue position Aster, Tooth and Sandy help out wherever," He flipped out a phone and started dialing numbers, most importantly he dialed 911.

Nick and Tooth ran off to get the things needed but Sandy stayed right by my side. We began working on his uniform, stripping him of the top layer, always the hardest to put on and take off by the way. Soon his brace was out in the open, his blue brace with snowflake decorations he'd drawn on after two weeks of wearing it. His tank top was soaked through with sweat, showing how deeply dehydrated he was. As soon as the top part of his uniform was free we began working on the bottom part of his uniform, the pants. The two had gotten back a while ago and now that we were taking his pants off Tooth was blushing like a little girl with a secret about another boy but we managed to do it soon after, leaving Jack in a pair of basketball shorts and his tank top under his brace.

"Do you think.. Do you think we should take the brace off? Keep him cooler?" Tooth asked, hand hovering over the brace in hesitation. "Yeah, go ahead. I'm going to try and wake him up," I said and slapped his face a bit. Now that it was a little bit cooler maybe he could wake up. His face looked a little more paler and cooler than before thankfully.

We could hear sirens in the distance but Jack seemed to be coming around a bit. He managed to let out a weak moan and I tapped his cheek lightly but as firmly as I could in this situation. He needed to wake up in the next few moments. "Atta boy Jacky. Wake up. You overheated again," I said, looking at Jack's face. "We're gonna lift you outta your brace and setcha on the ground. It's pretty cold and shady." Slowly but surely we got him out of the brace and laid him on the ground where we could see the full extent of how bad his back had gotten.

It was like his back was a slightly malformed 's'. You could see that he was offcenter with how he would lay but we didn't have time to ponder it because the Ambulance pulled up in front of us, Mr. Moon standing next to me as I tried to pull Jack into full consciousness. A paramedic soon took over, taking Jack into his hands and they soon had him up in a gurney. That's the last time we saw him that week though. He was transported to the Hospital in town four days after, probably when he'd stabilized in the Hospital Jamestown.

~Jack P.O.V.~

It took them a few days to regulate my temperature in the Jamestown Hospital but I got some bad news. It annoyed the crap out of me that I needed to get the surgery closer than we had thought. They said that I was now at close to 100 degrees at the top curve, 60 at the bottom. I would have to see my doctor at the Hospital but because I passed out I was to stay in the hospital until I was seen there.

"Thiiiiissss Suuuuuckks!" I said, trying to annoy the crap out of the paramedics in the Ambulance with me. They wouldn't let me have my phone, which, by the way, I got a charger for from Mr. Moon the first day of my stay. By the second day he'd had to go back to Burgess to take care of some things but by then my usual Social Worker was there and making sure I was fine. She'd left with the screaming that he was an annoying ass of a teen and that I'd see papers soon about being emancipated in a few days. Sure enough, I'd gotten the papers one day later, signed by my social workers and myself.

"We know Jack but sit back, relax, maybe catch some sleep. If you're good within the next minute I'll give you the phone back and I'll even give you my headphones to keep," The man sitting next to me said, looking up from his book. With a gulp and look of excitement I put my hands up and smiled, completely silent.

He ended up keeping his promise, giving me both my phone and headphones and I went back to Flappy Bird. Long nights at the Wal-Mart allowed me to get a phone and a plan, one that I've had paid off for two years in advance. Life was pretty sweet for me right now, well, all except for the scoliosis thing. That really sucked. In any case Flappy Bird was the reason my phone was taken in the first place, I'd almost thrown it across the room and the paramedic sitting next to me took it.

We had another two hour drive but I fell asleep listening to the music on my phone (Nick downloaded it for me, I didn't have an Amazon account yet). I kind of hoped to see the others there but it was dark when we got there, I was put in a room and allowed to sleep until the next morning when Dr. Andrews (The old one from my ER visit, he was actually pretty cool) came around for morning rounds.

"Hey Jack, heard we had a bit of trouble during a Band competition. How are we feeling?" He asked, looking at me curiously then having me sit up. "Shaky. I told the nurses but they said to tell you I was having a bit of trouble breathing," I said, trying to breath as deeply as I could without discomfort. It wasn't that deep but he obviously heard something because his brows furrowed and he didn't say anything for a few moments. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" He asked, pulling my t-shirt from my back in order to take a closer look.

"I was getting warmed up when I started to feel dizzy. I undid my uniform to loosen the brace a little but it didn't let up. I couldn't find Mr. Moon in time so I ended up marching. I got really dizzy and breathless and my friends were helping me up to the bus to find a place to sit but I passed out before we could get there. I woke up on the ground then again in the Ambulance. That's all I remember," I said, looking up at him like he was an idiot. "You have the chart." The last part was an unhappy mutter but I kept it pretty silent.

"Well Jack, you are suffering under a pretty major curve. It's starting to compress your lungs which means we're going to need to move on surgery pretty soon. I'm sorry, I know you wanted to wait until right before Christmas but it's not going to work. We can schedule you as soon as next week," Dr. Andrews said, perching on the bed next to me, stethoscope in hand. I grit my teeth and let out a large sigh before putting my head in my hands. I wanted to throw something, hit something, do anything but sit here in this stupid hospital bed.

"If I move on surgery next week or so do I have to stay here? There are things I would need to get ready, things I had to get situated," I said, biting and chewing at my lip. I wasn't prepared for this and this would change my whole schedule. "No, depending on when you have your surgery will determine when you get out of here. We aren't sure that you should be up and around a whole lot because of the strain the curve has on your lungs. The more active you are the more progress your curve can make,"

"If you schedule it for next week you can go home in a day or so then you get things ready and be back here for Pre-op then Day of your surgery,"

"Next Tuesday, any time," I said shakily. It was Monday, that meant I had a week and a day.

"We'll give you the times at pre-op on Thursday at 8 A.M.. We'll see more about the whole hospital stay issue then when we can see how you're doing,"

**Everything seems to be coming to a head! What's going to happen with Jack and Aster? How will his surgery turn out?**

**SB-26 Out**


	6. What oh what will happen?

**Sorry about the wait but I ended up struggling with the chapter (I did a LOT of research), having a 4 day long field trip and then also ended up having a severe amount of medical such happen. **

**I have a knee problem that required 4 knee surgeries but I also need another one. I stepped up onto a curb and because I have no patella femoral ligament it dislocated.**

Anyway, I don't own ROTG.

If you think I'm being too mean just tell me okay? There's a bit of a time skip though, try and keep up with me.  


**The descriptions of the waiting rooms are from my own parents who sat throug hour surgery.**

_Aster P.O.V._

The door to the surgery only 9 hours after they went went in, everyone's head whipping up in milliseconds even if it wasn't for their kid . This was the third floor Orthopedic surgery waiting area at the Philadelphia Children's Hospital. Jack wasn't exactly a child anymore but mentally, well, the dingo could be as childish as a two year old!

In any case, the last 9 hours had been hell on everyone here. Jack had been taken back to surgery about 8 A.M., leaving Toothy a nattering pest who had barely sat down in the last three to four hours, Nick a football player that acted like he hadn't eaten in three weeks, Sandy a mute who acted like someone who'd had way too much coffee. Me? Well, I was the mother who acted like their baby had been taken away and they were waiting on the call that their kid was found unharmed. Yeah, I was real proud of it but hey, it didn't matter to me. The kid was going through a rough spot and it wasn't like any of the dills I called best friends could focus right now. I do say dills lovingly.  
Anyway, as soon as the door opened everyone's heads just shot up. My green eyes looked up at Doc Andrews hopefully, noticing that it was him instead of a nurse that told us she'd come out when it was time for us to see him in recovery. I looked to the others before standing and walking over. My heart was pounding and thumping heavily as I walked over. "All four of you guys can come, he's alright," There was an unspoken 'at the moment' at the end of the sentence. It gave me the bloody chills.

The rest of the guys came over, Nick holding a hand on Tooth's shoulder and a hand on our resident shorty Sandy. I gave them a smile and reassuring nod as we all joined as a group and began walking, my hand in Tooth's.  
The good doc took us to a conference room, sitting us down in a row of four chairs on the other side of the table from him. "The Dill... Jack, How did his surgery go?" I asked shakily as soon as Doc Andrews was sat. Tooth was shaking slightly, her hands on the table. Nick didn't look any better than me, his eyes hard and showing worry.  
"Jack had some trouble going under. It was like his heart and lungs didn't agree to go under. We put him a little deeper under than what we would have liked but he's coming out of it steadily," The doctor cut off, moving to rub at his mouth and sigh. "I'm sorry, this is kind of hard to say. One of my interns didn't do the required research they needed to know so they can avoid hitting a nerve. As you know, this is a teaching hospital so we have the interns help out with almost everything. Not only did this intern not do the work required but they also release a contagion into the air when they sneezed and we noticed a stitch of skin out of their glove. It was ripped and we have reason to believe Jack will have an infection but that is not the main reason. Even if he is under attack from an infection he will be so out of it that he will not notice. Now, as I said before, the intern did not do the required work. While he was drilling he hit Jack's T-7 vertebrae. There is major reason to believe that Jack will be paralyzed. There's no doubt really."  
There was a deep moment of silence where everyone just worked to take that in. Jack, the guy that we had been steadily growing closer to, was now a paraplegic. "The intern, what is going to happen with him?" I asked, fighting back tears of anger and betrayal. How could a guy like that, someone who had become a doctor already not study and possibly break a kid who had already broken? It made me pissed.  
"He will be coming in later and will bring in a formal apology and will also be helping to keep Jack happy and healthy after his surgery. After that happens he will be under review from the national boards and our own hospital board. He will not be getting away just completely free," Tooth bit at her lip and covered her mouth, already in tears. Sandy just looked awestruck and like he was going to puke. I didn't blame him though, I felt ready to myself. My upper lip trembled threateningly and I let out a shaky sigh. "Jack... How low or high is he paralyzed?"  
The doctor sighed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. If he sighed one more time, I was going to jump over this table and completely slap him. I don't mean little slap either, I'm talking about going to positively turn his head when I slapped him. Sandy, obviously seeing my rising tension, put a hand on my arm and gave me a look. Calm down, it called out, giving me _that _look, the one he usually gave when one of us hadn't slept. Jack ended up getting that look very very often.  
"He's going to be paralyzed from the middle to low part of his chest, he'll probably need therapy, counseling, the whole nine yards," I covered my eyes with one hand and growled. "Can we go see him yet?" Toothy again, she was always a sucker for the kid, hell, all of us were. I had gotten really close with him, maybe even a little too close. I always found myself wanting to sit next to him, help him out and then recently I kept worrying him, acting like a mother hen. The only time I'd felt that was years ago with... With James.  
The doctor finally led us to Jack's room after giving us some information. For the first week or so Jack would be so out of it while he was coming down off the pain from surgery he wouldn't know anything. We had at least a week to research, come up with what wheelchair Jack would probably want, if the hospital would make him go and live in a home, everything. As soon as we came near a row of chairs I sank into one, Tooth putting a hand on my shoulder. All I could think about was the talk we'd had several days ago.

_** Flashback**_

_ I was walking around the percussion cabinet tapping my fingers over my crossed arms. I had a major migraine and everything seemed like it was getting horrible. Sure, nothing was terribly wrong, I still had my life, my parents, hell, I still had the dingbats I called best friends but some of the things seemed to be falling completely apart. _

_ I suddenly saw Toothy passing in front of the door and I suddenly leapt out with a great growl, pulling her back into the closet next to me. "I need yer help Toothy, got a bit of a problem on my hands," I said softly, motioning for her to kneel down a bit so no one knew that we were even in here. Most people were outside, practicing for the final performance at the exhibition competition next week. _

_ "Aster! Why did you suddenly pull me in here? You know I hate this type of getting my attention!" She said, growling and looking at me. I gave her **the** look before grunting and moving to pace back and forth. "I like someone," I finally blurted out, falling into a stop and tapping my feet. My feet always make me think of that joke, the one about feet. You know what they say about people with big feet? Big shoes. That always cracked Jack up but I don't think he really gets it.  
Tooth flew into a panic. "Who is it? You have to tell me!" She cried out, jumping a bit. "Keep it down Toothy an I'll tell ya,"I sighed and rolled my eyes exasperatedly. She always got in a hissy fit when someone liked another person even though we were almost 16 now. Jack-o was the exception, he was pretty young, only 15.  
With a disdained sigh I tapped my fingers before answering. "Jack," With a blush I turned away and didn't look at either her or the door. "Oh, Aster, it's cute! Will you ask him out?"  
I quickly shook my head, looking at anything but Tooth. "I don't want to put unneeded stress on him, his surgery is right around the corner and it's going to be a doozy,"_

**End Flashback**

After a while of pondering I got up, ready to see Jack again. The Doc Andrews said that he'd still be intubated for a little while until they were confident he could breathe on his own with an oxygen cannula. The poor kid hadn't done a thing to deserve this, why would he be dealing with all of this? I wanted to punch something, throw something against the wall. Nothing was right for Jack right now and he would need our help, I couldn't let my anger get a hold of me.  
When we finally got to the room I took a deep breath and looked at the others. Only two people at a time were allowed to see him until he woke and was taken to the Pediatric ICU but I _needed_ to see him, absolutely needed to. I took a few moments to compose myself before opening the door to see Jack.  
The room wasn't pure white like people said hospital rooms were, in fact, there was a beautiful mural of a flowery hillside and a few kids playing with a kite. ((**A/N: This was the décor in my hospital room for my surgery. It was so sickening by the time I was allowed to come home!**))  
All and all, it wasn't a bad room, much better than the one I'd been given when I was in the hospital for my ankle surgery.  
Jack looked pretty rough, he had several layers of bandages across his trunk, tubes sticking out from everywhere. I didn't even want to think of what the blankets were hiding underneath them, I'd had enough of catheters thanks. At least his wouldn't hurt when it came out. ((**A/N: If you don't know what they are, message me**)) Jack was pale, paler than what he'd been before. It was always hard to see Jack when he was asleep, it always seemed like he wasn't breathing with the way he slept but now with the tubes, especially the one sticking out of his throat, it seemed much worse than usual.  
There were several bags of blood hanging up, trailing into the I.V he had in this hand but I couldn't help but want to hug him tight and protect him from any more harm. It wasn't right that he had to deal with all this. He'd need all the help he could get though and I wouldn't let him slip back into a deep abyss.  
I sat on the chair next to Jack's bed and took the others hand in mine, warming it and keeping him company even though he didn't know I was there. "Hey Jack-o. I don't know if you can hear me but there are a lot of people waiting on you to wake up. You're intubated right now so it'll be annoying and hard to wake up but it doesn't really matter. You need to wake up," I whispered before squeezing his hand and kissing his forehead. He may not have known that I liked him but that didn't matter, he still needed to wake.  
I settled back down to sit, looking over Jack's pale face. There was what they called a NG Tube through his nose to take away some of the bile in his stomach, attached to an drainage area but I didn't care. He looked straiter, more comfortable and that was all that mattered.  
I was about to get up and allow the others to come in when the heart monitor in the room started to beep faster and I saw a slight movement from Jack's head. His white hair shifted a bit on the pillow and I jumped up, holding his shoulder, careful not to shake him. "Jack? Wake up buddo," I watched as his eyes slid open and looked lazily around the room. "Good job mate, hold on for a second, they'll get that tube out in a jiff," I ran out, getting a nurse to come and extubate him.  
I stood outside with the others, not wanting to take up room in the time place they called a recovery room. "He's awake, they're going to extubate him and he'll probably fall right back asleep, the donger," I said softly, moving around a bit. I hadn't slept for shit but I couldn't sit or stand around any more. I'd done enough sitting while he was in surgery.  
"Oh thank god," Tooth muttered, putting her head in her hands. "He'll get moved down to a private room in the ICU soon, but he's pretty out of it, will be for quite a while. We should probably take shifts, one person go to school for a time, then the next sleeps, that kind of thing." I didn't want ot leave but there was nothing we could do for him right now.

**Jack P.O.V.**

"You need to wake up," I heard vaugly, eyes beginning to flutter. There was some sort of pressure on my forehead and then the presence was gone. I could feel pain and discomfort and there was something down my throat, probably something to help me breathe but I had no idea who was with me. Bit of an aussie accent but that could have been anyone here, not just Aster.  
I fought through the crowd of sleep that covered me and moved a little. There was a large shock of pain and I let my eyes open a bit, immediately honing in on Aster standing to my right side. Something felt off but I couldn't tell what. All I knew was that something was wrong and it wasn't just the tube.  
Aster said something but I missed it, then he was running off and moving out the door to get someone, probably a nurse. He didn't come back in but people came in and out, one nurse helping me to get the tube out and oxygen put over my mouth and nose. I don't remember much after that, only the fact that I was soon in another room and then into the abyss of sleep.  
I didn't wake up much after that, slowly going in and out and before I knew it a week had crept by and the pain wasn't as bad. They were constantly moving me onto my sides, back onto my back and then back to my sides, probably to keep the flow of blood.

**Aster P.O.V, 1 ½ weeks later.**

They'd finally began moving Jack out of the pain induced fog and into the living world about a day ago. He was on the moderate dose and he was waking up more often and finally speaking. The first words he'd uttered was 'I can't feel my legs. Why can't I feel my legs?'. It was hard for anyone to explain to him that he was now paralyzed and that it was the hospital's own fault that it had happened. He took it surprisingly well, spending only an hour or so before clearing up and being a bit cheery. We were all thanking that he was pretty bipolar at this point but once Nick had brought a computer to the hospital with him during his shift he'd turned a corner, looking at wheelchairs.  
"This one has snowflake designs on the rims!" He said to me one day, smiling widely. At least he was taking this pretty well. It probably helped that he was seeing a counselor to help out but hey, what ever floated his boat. It had been starting to get pretty cold and we were attending physical therapy appointments with Jack to try and learn how to help him out. I myself had been doing research when he was sleeping (Pretty often now a'days, he was still in pain) and learning how to help him Post-Hospitalizations.  
The ruddy show-pony was still his usual self after learning about the paralysis and was still annoying at times. "Assstterr! Can we go for a walk?" Oh yeah, still himself. We went for walks almost every day, getting nurses to help him into the wheelchair and then we walked with him around, jack rolling himself to try and gain more upper body strength. It was important for him to build it up so that he could stay healthy. Steadily, even with the struggles we had now with medicine and Jack, we were all growing closer and closer.

**Okay, people, I love reviews, just know that.**

Later!


	7. READ THIS UPDATED

**This will be deleted after I get the chapter up, no worries!**

**So, I am so so so so so sorry about the wait. My computer is broken and I am awaiting a new cooling fan to come in. Should be sometime this week. **

**That being said, I aalso have specialty doctor appointments coming up. I messed up my knee again in track and am waiting on a call back from the knee doctor about if he wants to wait on surgery or do it quickly. My mother is pushing for me tohave the surgery as soon as possible as I will need it to even ride a bike or maybe walk in the future. I've had 4 so far and we just want it over with. **

**I suffer from severe migraines, to the point I ccan't even open my eyes some days along with the nerve pain. It's been deduced I suffer from either Fibromyalgia or Rheumatoid Arthritis or both. My mother and grandmother have both and they are hereditary. **

**While these are no excuse, I stand by the computer. I have two chaptrrs written and another one almost finished. Thank you so much for understanding. **

**Sorry again!**


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